Impossible
by they-call-me-Helga
Summary: Draco hates hermione. Hermione hates draco but will they step over that boundary between love and hate...? Also strange encounters in the lake, night time detentions and much more... also this is a 5th book spoiler
1. Slipping

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters L, J K Rowling does. But this is entirely MY story so for now I'm borrowing them. J 

Also it's a Fifth book spoiler, so I suggest you read the fifth book before reading this. J  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Title: **

**Chapter One: Slipping**

Hermione Granger scowled in Draco Malfoy's direction. She, Harry and Ron were in the Great Hall eating breakfast when Draco began imitating Ron Weasly at the day-before Quidditch match. It had been a poor performance of goal keeping by Ron. The roaring of laughter from the Slytherins gathered around Malfoy rang through the hall and echoed endlessly. 

Ron sank lower and lower in his seat, his ears burning red. A mixture of anger and embarrassment spread across his face.

Hermione leaned forwards. "Ron, _please_, you're acting like a child. Just _ignore him_." She turned and looked over her shoulder to see another impersonation of Ron's appalling display.

          Malfoy was making weird gestures as though he was hanging off a broom, which is what had happened to Ron.  Ron had been hit by two bludgers at once from behind, causing him to fall forward. He had almost fallen completely off his broom, however one of his hands managed to grasp the handle just in time. He attempted to swing back onto his broom but it was difficult using only one hand, the rain did not help. He seemed to make his situation worse with every attempted swing. His fingers eventually lost their grip and slipped, causing him to fall down no less than fifty feet from the air. He hit hard on the pitch. It was a horrible sight. During the whole time Ron was dangling from his broom the Slytherin team had made seven goals!

Ron glared at everyone around him. "I would like to see _you_ ignore that!" He retorted, bitterly, as the Slytherins burst into rendition of "Weasley Is Our King!"

"Oh, don't give me that!" Hermione snapped, "Harry here ("Please Hermione, don't get me involved" Harry pleaded,) has had to put up with a lot worse than you and he seems to be able to manage!"

"Shut up, Hermione! Don't bring Harry into this! ("Thank you!" said Harry.) Anyway how would you know how he feels! He doesn't tell you every tiny detail of his misfortunes!"

"That wasn't my point!" She huffed, angrily, "What I mean is for you to put it into perspective!"

"What?!"

"Look, it was just one bad Quidditch match. You'll pull through."

"One bad Quidditch match?!" Ron scoffed, "Did you forget the fact that I broke not only my arm, but my ribs and ankle too!! Also that tiny detail called my _DIGNITY_!"

It was here when Harry decided to jump in and put a halt to their argument. "Please, Hermione? Ron? Could you guys calm down?"

Hermione huffed and took in a deep breath. Ron eyed her coldly. They finished their breakfasts in silence.

Both of them were in bad moods for the rest of the day.

~*~*~*~

As their last class ended (Care of Magical Creatures) Hermione and Ron were still pretty tense around each other. Hermione decided to take a break from Ron and Harry, so instead of heading toward the castle she walked over to the lake and sat herself upon a rather large rock. 

She pulled out her homework and began to work. 

She was in the middle of her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay when she realized she couldn't concentrate. She put her essay back into her bag and stared out across the lake.

Hermione was now in sixth year and she hadn't really changed at all since first year, physically. Same bushy hair, same know-it-all self. She hadn't really grown much in height either. She was still petit. The only difference from when she started Hogwarts to now was her teeth that she had shrunk in fourth year. 

Hermione leaned down over the rock and gazed at her reflection, which whirled a little in the water. She sighed, hopelessly. Looking at herself made her feel so plain. She never put any effort into making herself look pretty, there would be no point.  She didn't have good looks like the other girls. Her body didn't have many curves and her chest could have been mistaken for a pancake. Hermione smiled at her reflection, a useless attempt to try make herself appear prettier. Her smiled faded. It was no use.

Her mind wandered back to Harry and Ron. There were only two things that Ron and Harry talked about: Quidditch and Girls. Hermione could bare the Quidditch talks but when it came to the two boys talking about girls Hermione became very frustrated.  They would talk about how pretty this girl is, and how pretty that girl is, they would often talk about who they'd want to go out with. And sometimes they would even rate girls out of ten; this annoyed Hermione the most. She would usually scowl at them and bury her nose in a thick book.  

Hermione shifted her body slightly to make herself more comfortable and also to get a better view of her mournful reflection. But she accidentally placed her foot down wrong and she slipped and fell down into the lake beneath. 

She splashed into the icy cold water. Her body frozen, Hermione started to swim towards the surface. Suddenly she felt something scaly grip her legs. She twisted around and saw a Grindylow clutch its long fingers around her ankles and began to pull her down into the depths of the water. She kicked her legs about, trying to shake it off and swim away but more Grindylows appeared. They all gripped her arms and legs. Their teeth gnawing at her calves. Hermione struggled to break free but there were just too many Grindylows. The pain was intense and she was losing air. They were dragging her down, down, down… 

~*~*~*~ MEANWHILE ~*~*~*~

Draco smirked to himself as he remembered how that oaf, Weasley, had looked at the Quidditch game. Weasley was always good for a laugh.

Draco walked out of Care of Magical Creatures, glad that the day was finally over. He now had some free time on his hands but didn't feel like returning to the Slytherin common room. He decided to take a ride on his broomstick. 

He seized his Nimbus 2001 and took it to the Quidditch pitch. He was only flying for about a minute before the Gryffindor team came striding across the pitch. He decided to pretend that he didn't notice them. 

"Bloody Gryffindors," He muttered angrily. 

Angelina, the team captain, shouted up to him, "Malfoy! We're gonna have to ask you to leave!"

Draco continued to fly, pretending not to have heard.

Angelina started to get a bit annoyed. She called up at him again, "Malfoy, I said you have to leave!"

This time he looked down at them and answered back. 

"What if I don't want to?" He sneered. 

Angelina's face turned red. She was getting pretty pissed off with him. Draco loved this it was very amusing. 

 "Listen Malfoy, we booked this pitch so if you don't leave I'm gonna have to bring Professor McGonagall into this."

This time he listened. He descended graciously onto the Quidditch pitch, gave them a last smirk before turning his back to them and walked away. He placed his broomstick back in the Quidditch storeroom and headed toward the castle. 

He decided to take the long route and walk by the lake. As he walked he twirled his wand between his fingers, flicked it in the air. When it came down he caught it with his teeth. He flicked it in the air again but this time he flicked it a little too far and it landed in the lake.

          Draco rushed forward and glanced down into the water. _Damn it_, he thought as he saw it sink lower and lower into the water until it was so deep he could not see it. 

_Shit_!

He climbed on the rock, stood up and analyzed the water. It looked so dark and so _cold_. He took in a deep breath and dived into the water.

The coldness rushed through his body like electricity. It was _FREEZING_!! Trying to ignore how cold the water was he searched around for his wand. He swam deeper and deeper. He strained his eyes as the water got darker, it was getting harder to see. 

Finally he saw his wand resting on the bottom of the lake. He picked it up and headed back toward the surface. Suddenly, out of the seaweed emerged a group of Grindylows. They all surged forward and embarked their attack. Their long fingers gripped tightly around his arms and pawed at his face. His mind running through all the spells he knew as they seized his robes and tried to bite through. 

Ultimately he remembered one. He tried to say the spell but then realized he was underwater and so nothing came out of his mouth. Instead his wand pelted them with jets of boiling water. The Grindylows abruptly let go and nursed their wounds. Draco seized this chance to escape. He swam towards the surface, shooting boiling water over his shoulder at the persistent Grindylows.

His legs, burning with pain, wanted to slow down, but his mind perused him to go further. His lungs begging for air felt tight in his chest. He kicked his legs and his arms stretched out in front of him. _Only a little further_, he told himself as he glimpsed light above his head. 

Finally his face broke through the surface. He drank in the air and wiped the water out of his eyes. Then he heard something emerge from the water behind him. He turned and saw… 

"Ganger?"

  



	2. We Met Through A Grindylow

Chapter Two: We met through a Grindylow 

****

****

She splashed into the icy cold water. Hermione started to swim towards the surface. Suddenly she felt something scaly grip her legs. She twisted around and saw a Grindylow clutch its long fingers around her leg and began to pull her down into the depths of the water. She kicked her legs about, trying to shake it off and swim away but more Grindylows appeared. They all gripped her arms and legs. Their teeth gnawing at her calves. Hermione struggled to break free but there were just too many Grindylows. The pain was intense and she was losing air. They were dragging her down, down, down…

Hermione's arms burned under the pressure of the Grindylows' spindly fingers. Their grasp was strong and there was not much she could do. She couldn't reach her wand, which was in the pocket of her robes because the Grindylows held her arms too tightly.

Just when she thought all hope was gone she felt their grip loosen. Deciding she would never get another chance to escape she quickly tore away from the herd of angry Grindylows and swam towards the water's surface, not daring to look behind.

As her face broke through the surface she gasped for air, thankful to have finally gotten away from the water demons. She heard something behind her. She turned around and saw…

"Malfoy!" Hermione gasped, shocked to see Draco Malfoy treading water about less than a meter away from her.

"Granger?" Draco looked just as stunned to see her.

"Wha… What are you doing here?" She stuttered, wiping her hair out of her eyes, partly hoping that he might just be her imagination.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing, Granger," He eyed her carefully. _What was she doing in the lake_?

As if she had read his thoughts she answered, " I fell in and then these Grindylows came out of nowhere and attacked me. What about you? What were you doing in the lake?"

"I… I dropped my wand." Draco was still in shock over the whole incident.

Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion. "Dropped your wand?" She shook her head.

"In the lake. Yeah, then the Grindylows attacked me too." He shrugged.

After that there was a few seconds of awkward silence. The only sound to be heard was the rippling of the water. It was Hermione who broke the silence.

She gazed up from the water into Draco's gray eyes. Their eyes locked for a second before Hermione looked away, over his shoulder at the castle. 

"Um… uh thanks, I guess. You may not have realized it at the time but you… uh… you saved my life." She looked back into Draco's eyes and gave him a small smile. 

Draco was surprised. He had saved Granger? The Mud-blood? How could he do such a thing? Then he relaxed and reassured himself that it was an accident, he didn't know he was saving her. He looked deep into Hermione's dark brown eyes, which held a special twinkle. He returned a small smile back to her. 

Then he looked down at himself and realized he was shivering. He looked up and noticed Hermione was too. "Maybe we'd better climb out before we catch a cold," He smiled.

Hermione agreed and they reached over to the side of the lake and remove themselves from the water.

They stared at each other and laughed. Their robes were soaked through and dripping wet. 

Even though he knew it wouldn't do much good Draco felt the urge to pick up the ends of his robes and wring the water out.

Hermione eyed him, took out her wand and with a simple spell and swishing movement they were both completely dry.

Draco looked himself over and patted his robes as though searching to see whether the spell had really worked. He glanced back up at Hermione. She gave him a grin as she placed her wand back into her pocket.

"Well, thanks again, Malfoy. I'll… I'll see ya round. Bye," With one last smile she turned around, picked her bag up, and walked towards the castle.

Draco stood, frozen on the spot. His insides felt funny when she smiled at him like that, like he had butterflies buzzing around in there or something and he couldn't help thinking, _Hermione's not all bad_. Then with a stunning realization he quickly shook his head. _No! No! She's a Gryffindor! A Mud-blood_! He couldn't believe it, he saved Granger. _I saved Hermione Granger_! He couldn't help feeling rather proud of him self.

He began to head toward the castle. He felt reasonably cheerful and even whistled as he walked. And this time he didn't flick his wand about.

  



	3. Hermione's Worst Potions Class

**Chapter Three:** **Hermione's Worst Potions Class**

Hermione smiled to herself as she climbed the stairs to Gryffindor tower. She was happy that she actually had a proper conversation with Malfoy. It was a _normal_ conversation. She found herself humming. She couldn't remember a time where she had been this happy after an encounter with Malfoy. _Well there was that time in fourth year on the train going back home_, she thought as she remembered how she, Harry, Ron, Fred and George had all cast different hexes at the same time. It was very satisfying. 

But now was different. Malfoy had acted normal, not like his usual arrogant, obnoxious self.

Hermione, surprised at how quickly she had reached the portrait of the Pink Lady (she wasn't really thinking about where she was going), said, "Fuffle-Figg".

She climbed through the hole as the portrait swung open and walked into the common room. She had to find Harry and Ron and tell them about what happened at the lake.

She spotted them sitting beside the fireplace grumbling to each other. She hurried over to them, "You guys would never believe-" She stopped as she noticed the expression on their faces. "What's wrong?"

Harry glanced up at her. "Bad Quidditch practice," he said, sighing. She looked over at Ron who had his arms crossed over his chest, slouching in his seat and glaring into the fireplace. 

"What happened?" She asked as she lowered herself into a comfy couch, glancing from Harry to Ron then back to Harry again.

"It started off badly. Malfoy was there and wouldn't leave until we threatened to bring Professor McGonagall." Hermione gazed down into her hands, deciding that she wouldn't tell them about what had happened at the lake after all. "Then when he finally left Angelina… she, er… she," Harry glanced over at Ron anxiously, "She kicked Ron off the team."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed furiously, jumping out of her couch, knocking it backwards. "Why'd she do that? I thought Ron was getting much better at Keeping?"

At that remark Ron smiled a little, "You really think so Hermione?"

"Of course I do. So why did she do it?"

"Well even though Ron's arm, ankle and ribs have fully healed, she says she can't let another injury like that happen again so… she kicked him out."

Hermione picked her chair up and sat back down. "Well, that's a bit unfair! Maybe I could talk her into letting Ron back onto the team?"

"No use," Harry replied, hopelessly, "We've already tried. She said no and she already found a new Keeper so she wants to try him out first. It's only temporary until she can decide who is better at Keeping."

After a few long seconds of silence Hermione said, "Oh, bummer." And also stared into the fire with Ron and Harry. And for a moment she had forgotten the Malfoy incident.

~*~*~*~

A few weeks had gone by after the "Lake Incident" and things had gone back to normal between Hermione and Malfoy. He continued to taunt the trio and Hermione continued to get annoyed but ignore.

Draco headed toward Potions with Crabbe and Goyal on either side of him, arguing about whose hands were bigger.

"No! See _my_ hands are bigger than _your _hands, duh!" Goyle waved his hands about in front of Crabbe's face, trying to prove his point.

"No way! Mine are bigger. _See_!" 

Draco rolled his eyes as the pair continued to argue stupidly. The argument was really beginning to irritate him. He had had enough. Draco turned and faced them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Would you two bloody numskulls just shut up about your hands!" He snapped as he looked from one to the other, "No-one cares about how big they are!" He turned on his heel and stalked away from the pair before they could even process in their tiny brains what had just happened.

That was it. Draco had had enough of their stupidity. He was dropping his friends for good. What was the point if he couldn't even communicate properly with them?  

He stalked into class and instead of taking his usual seat with Crabbe & Goyal he sat up the front by himself. _Who cares_? He thought. _I don't need friends, especially when I have the respect of my fellow Slytherins._

Hermione walked in soon after, accompanied by Harry and Ron. They sat at the back and continued their conversation about the new wizard candy Fred and George had recently put on the market. 

Fred and George's new joke shop was becoming more and more popular each day. Their products were very successful and sold quickly. Hermione, Harry and Ron loved to talk about the new and exciting things Fred and George had come up with.

They were so absorbed in their discussion that they did not notice Professor Snape enter the room. The rest of the class had already ceased talking and had turned around in their seats looking at the trio. It took them a few seconds before they noticed everyone staring. 

As they shifted in their seats to turn back to the front they muttered their apologies. Snape glared at them with complete detest.

"Now that those rude few have decided to join in on our lesson we will be able to begin. Today I want you working in pairs."

Draco smacked himself in the face. He didn't have a partner! He raised his hand and when he was called upon he said, "Sir, I don't have a partner."

Snape glanced around the room and noticed Hermione, Ron and Harry were trying to hide behind their cauldrons so the three could work together. 

Draco noticed him looking in their direction. He didn't want to work with any of those unbearable Gryffindors. "Sir, It's okay, I can work by myself," he called.

"Nonsense, you need to work with a partner. It's part of the curriculum. Granger!" He barked, "You'll be working with Mr. Malfoy today."

Hermione looked pleadingly at Snape, "Oh, please sir - !"

"NOW!" Snape snarled, his lip curling.

Hermione sighed helplessly as she packed her things into her cauldron and moved them next to Malfoy. _Why me_? She thought. She wouldn't be able to stand such an overbearing person. 

Draco barely even acknowledged her presence as she sat down next to him. He merely glanced at her, his face expressionless, then gazed back at the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

Draco didn't want to work with Granger. He didn't want to work at all! But working with that know-it-all, Mud-blood made the situation worse. He didn't pay much attention to the instructions on the board as he cut up his spider's legs.

Hermione also noticed that Malfoy was acting a bit strange. Stranger than he normally would. She looked at him sideways as she shredded her Shrivelfig, contemplating what was going on in that blond head of his. 

He could feel someone's eyes studying him. He looked up and saw Hermione watching him. "What?" He asked, feeling aggravated. 

"Nothing," she muttered, quickly darting her eyes back to her Shrivelfig. 

Malfoy sighed. He dropped the spider's legs into the cauldron, chopped his Boomslang Skin and placed that in too. He began stirring when Hermione shrieked at him. Draco jumped out of his skin. 

"What are you doing?! You're supposed to wait for me to put in the Shrivelfig, _then_ you put in the caterpillar and spider's legs. And you're meant to stir _clock-wise_, not _anti_-clockwise!" She huffed at him angrily, her face burning red. "_Look what you've done_!"

He now saw that the mixture in the cauldron turned a deep red colour and was bubbling wildly. The boiling liquid rose and began to spill over the edge, running down the side of the cauldron and over the table. 

Hermione looked simply furious. Draco just stared at her. "What?"

Hermione looked ready to pounce. "_What_? You want to know _what_? I'll tell you _what_, you just ruined our potion, that's _WHAT_!"

Draco smirked. He could see he was really getting on Hermione's nervous, he loved to torment her. 

"Oh no, our poor potions ruined. What will we ever do?" He called sarcastically, his smirk widening.

"Malfoy, do you realize we will get zero marks for this? You just lost us ten marks each you know!" Her face was growing hot with anger. _Why did Malfoy always do this_?_ Didn't he care that we would get no marks_? Hermione could feel a prickling of tears fill her eyes. She tried to blink it away. She didn't want to cry in front of Malfoy.

Snape chose this moment to walk over to their table to see how they were doing. His eyes widened in horror when he saw the red potion, still rapidly bubbling and spilling over the table. He looked up and saw Hermione and Draco in a heated argument. Raging voices blaring at each other, their faces red.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" His voice boomed over their own. They stopped shouting at each other and looked up to see Professor Snape towering over them giving them a very cold and loathing glower.

"That's 50 points from both of you plus a months worth of detention!" He continued looking scornful, "Now clean this mess up, and not another word out of both of you." He gave them one last glare before turning on his heels and stalked away. 

Hermione felt sick. _50 points_? She thought as she waved her wand, _(The red potion disappeared_). This was bad. Her brow furrowed as she worried about the next month. A whole months worth of detention with that infuriating Malfoy! She didn't know how she would be able to stand having to work with him again. She hated him. More than hated him, she detested him. It was so unfair,  it wasn't even her fault! If only Malfoy had been paying attention. She shot him a dirty look.

Draco was slouched in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest, scowling at his cauldron, which sat on his desk. He was thinking along the same lines as Hermione. _50 points_!_ 50_! That was a bit much, he thought. It was so unfair! _This is all Granger's fault_, he thought, _If she wasn't so uptight about everything and relaxed, learn how to take jokes._ Now he had to spend _more_ time with that egotistical, show- off, know-it-all, Mud-blood!

Suddenly a thought struck him. A smile spread across his face. Hermione noticed this and asked, bitterly, "What are you smiling about, Malfoy?" 

Draco straightened his back and sat up in his seat. He sneered at Hermione as he said, "While you do detention all next month I'll be relaxing back in the Slytherin common room knowing that my father's power can get me anything I want." 

He smiled again smugly as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat feeling more confident. He was just imagining about what he would write in the letter this time when Hermione broke through his thoughts.

"I thought your father was in Azkaban?" She returned the smug smile as Draco's faded. He kept forgetting that his father wasn't around anymore. His face reddened and returned back to it's original scowling state and he continued glaring at the cauldron, upset that his idea had backfired.

The bell then rang, signaling the end of the period and the end of the day.

  



	4. Detention

**Chapter Four:** **Detention**

Hermione hurried down the marble staircases, anxiously, toward the dungeons. 

She was on her way to her first detention for the month and she wasn't really looking forward to it but she didn't want to be late and get herself into any more trouble with Snape than she already was.

As she made her way through several more twisting hallways and down a few more flights of stairs stepping into the Entrance Hall she wondered what she'd have to do. She hoped she wouldn't have to work with Malfoy.

Just thinking of that infuriating boy made her stomach churn. Yep. She hated him. 

Draco, on the other hand, didn't care and took his time walking to detention

He entered Snape's office shortly after Hermione. Snape growled at the both of them as he led them up several staircases to an abandoned classroom in one of the astronomy towers. 

The room was filled from floor to ceiling with boxes, desks, books, chairs. All old, all dusty, all ancient. The grime on the windows was so thick that you could not see out of it, making the room dark and cold. 

          "Wands!" barked Professor Snape, his hand outstretched. 

Hermione and Draco pulled their wands out, reluctantly, and handed them over.

"Now you are to clean this room up so that it is spotless," Then he added, "without magic." 

          "_With out magic_?" Draco and Hermione repeated.

"Yes, without magic!" He turned on his heels and marched out of the room with their wands. He slammed the door with a loud BANG and locked it behind them.

Hermione gave Draco a helpless look.

His gray eyes stared at her coldly.

They stood there in awkward silence staring at each other for several seconds until Hermione spoke. 

"Perhaps we'd better get started then, shall we?" She said in what she hoped was a friendly manner. _After all_, she thought, _If I were to be working with him I may as well try to be nice_. "How about you start on that side of the room and collect all the books while I-"

But she was interrupted.

"No, I don't think so," He crossed his arms over his chest, defiantly, as if daring her to object.

"What do you mean 'No'?" She took a step closer to him, her brow furrowed as she glared at him.

"I will _not_ be taking orders from a Mud-blood." He stared at her menacingly, though she did not cower as he was hoping her to. 

Hermione could be quite stubborn, and sometimes dangerous. 

"Why do you have to be so impossible to work with?" She demanded hotly.

"_ME_? You're saying that _I'm_ impossible?" Draco splattered, "_You're_ the one who landed us detention!" 

"WHAT?!" Hermione was practically fuming, "_You're_ the one who ruined our potion- "

"_You_ had to make such a big deal over it- "

"You know what Malfoy, _FINE_!" Hermione turned on her heal and stalked away from Malfoy over to the windows, picking up a rag and cleaning spray. She could practically feel the steam fuming from her ears.

Draco was taken aback to how quickly she gave up. After his shock wore off he smirked to himself. He won! _Ha! Take that, Granger_! 

Hermione stood at the window farthest away from Malfoy and began scrubbing the grime off.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. The windows were _really_ dirty. She thought about Malfoy. About how much she disliked him and scrubbed harder. Her hatred for him fueled her.

Why did he always have to be so annoying? _He thinks he's SO cool. Hmph! All the girls think he's SO charming, SO handsome. Well I can see right through him_! He hasn't got me fooled!

Hermione looked over her shoulder at Malfoy and gave him a disapproving glare. He wasn't even _trying_ to clean. 

Draco was lazily un-stacking the chairs and setting them out. She turned back to her dirty window and scrubbed harder. Most of the grime was coming off. Finally with one last swipe the window was clean. Moonlight broke through and she could gaze up at the twinkling stars.

Hermione's breath was taken away. The night sky was so beautiful. So perfect. Each star seemed to have been crafted with extra care as they sparkled mischievously like fireflies. The moon so large, so round, seemed closer than ever before in this high tower.

_It would be so romantic_, she thought_, If only I wasn't here with Malfoy. He ruins everything_!

Her spirits lowered. _URGH_!

She sighed hopelessly and turned to the next window.

*~*~*~*

Wiping the last window clean she set down her cleaning tools, wiped her forehead and let out her breath.

There! That's done 

She took a step back and placed her hands on her hips as she inspected her work, nodding her head in approval.

_Not bad_.

Tired, she dropped her arms from her hips and sat down in one of the window seats. After all that work she needed a little rest and decided she would like to just gaze at the stars.

Crossing her legs, she tilted her head and rested her chin on her hand propped up by her elbow. Her mind began to wander and daydream.

*~*~*~*

Not long after Hermione finished with the windows Draco had finished un-stacking all the chairs. 

He too was exhausted and decided to take a break. Collapsing in one of the chairs he'd set out, he ran a hand through his slick blonde hair.

He sat there for a few seconds glancing down at his feet, but he couldn't hear anything else in the room. Silence burned through his ears.

_What's that bloody Granger doing_? He could no longer hear the squeaking of the cloth cleaning the window. 

Wondering if she had left the room he looked up.

Woah…! 

Draco was breath-taken, speechless!

All five long windows were wiped clean without even a speck of dust! The large round moon shone brighter than ever before, making the room they were in glow bright blue.

But it was not the windows that took his breath away, and he wasn't speechless because of the moon, (although they were both spectacular). No. He was "woah-ing" because when he glanced up he saw Hermione, sitting on the window ledge gazing up at the stars.

_She looks so beautiful_, he thought, suddenly without realizing, as the moon's rays shone on her curly hair. Her skin glowing perfectly, her dark brown eyes gazing though her long dark eye lashes.

Every one of her features stood out beautifully to him. An all too familiar fluttery feeling returned to his stomach.

Hermione felt eyes watching her. She tore her gaze away from the brilliant moon and met Draco's eyes.

Draco's heart leapt up to his throat, eyes wide. She had caught him staring. 

Being a stupid teenage boy he mistook this feeling for embarrassment. 

Thinking quick he formed his face into a scornful expression and sneered, "What are you looking at Mud-Blood?" He then turned away, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts of Hermione.

_What am I doing_? He thought, whacking himself in the head. How can I even be _thinking_ of a mud-blood let alone stare at her? 

_…And how could I let her catch me_?

He had never been this careless with other girls. It seemed whenever Hermione was around he was never as composed as he would like to be. He seemed to lose his cool and could be quite reckless. And he hated it.

Suddenly the tower door burst open wide. 

Both Hermione's and Draco's heads snapped around to face the door.

Snape stood in the doorframe.

He stepped in slowly. His eyes darted around as he inspected the room.

Hermione climbed off the window seat and stood up straight next to Malfoy who'd already gotten up off his chair.

Snape stopped walking when he reached them. He took one last look around before gazing down at them.

"Nice work with the windows, Malfoy," He smiled.

"But-!" Hermione started to object but Draco cut her.

"Why thank you sir," He smiled cruelly at Granger, "it was nothing."

Hermione bit her lip as a lump formed in her throat. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. _It was me!!_ She wanted to scream. _I cleaned the windows! Not Malfoy_!

But her voice did not sound as her lips moved. And suddenly it was too late to say anything. Snape dismissed them and told them they were required to continue cleaning this room every evening for the rest of the month.

After Snape left the room Draco was just about to head to the Slytherin common room when he took one last look at Hermione.

Still frozen on the spot, staring at the doorway after where Snape had left. 

She could not believe what had just happened. After all that work she did that… that _Malfoy_ received the credit for it! Her bottom lip quivered and what she dreaded most happened.

One single tear rolled from her bright brown eyes, down her cheek, over her lips, and rested on her chin for a second before it dripped to the ground. That was not the end of it, however. More tears ran out and there was nothing she could do.

Standing to one side of the room Draco saw the whole thing. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he saw Hermione drop to her knees and bury her face into her hands. He never wanted to make her cry. He knew he should have told the truth but… he couldn't help himself. It was second nature to him. 

But seeing Hermione looking so helpless and distraught he knew he had to get rid of this bad habit.

_Why did the guilt have to kick in now_? _WHY_?! This was SO not like him and he was beginning to worry. 

He rolled his eyes, sighed grudgingly, and knelt down next to her. She looked at him through hurt, watery brown eyes.

"Listen… Grang- … er, Hermione. Look, I… I'm sorry I-" He tried to sound kind and friendly.

Suddenly her eyes flashed menacingly. _Who was he to take credit for her work then apologize like it was no big thing? How DARE he_? 

She stood up.

He jumped up and backed away as she advanced on him. 

Nostrils flaring with anger. Her cheeks flushed red.

She looked MAD! Worse than that time she slapped him in third year. 

Like she was ready to tear him apart.

Draco, scared of being slapped again (or worse), bumped into the wall behind him. Hermione didn't stop walking until she was an inch away from him.

She glared at him seethingly. "How. Dare. You." She demanded, no louder than a whisper in a raspy voice from the crying. 

"How?" Her voice growing louder. "How could you do that?! After _all_ that work I'd done y… you just stand there _smiling_ and take credit for something that _I_ did?"

Her eyes fixed onto his. He could see tears forming in her eyes again.

Draco gulped, licked his lips, and tried to find his voice as he figured out what to say. He had become very aware of how close she was standing to him, that fluttery feeling stronger than ever.

"I… I don't know," Draco, stuttered, surprised with himself. He had never ever been lost for words before.

Hermione snorted, disgusted, and turned on her heel away from him. She picked up her bag and stalked out of the room still teary eyed and red faced.

Draco blew a sigh of relief. He had never been more frightened of Hermione Granger before in his life. He could now see how dangerous she really was. And it kind of turned him on.

He stood there for a few seconds running a hand through his hair before leaving for the Slytherin Common room.


	5. The Squid Brings Us Together Again

Before I continue with this chapter I would like to thank those who took the time to send in those very kind reviews. I was SO happy when I read them and they motivated me to write more. I'm sorry I took so long to update, but coming up with original ideas is becoming difficult so I wouldn't mind any suggestions whatsoever if anyone has any. So, thanks again and enjoy the next chapter!!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters but this story is completely my own! :P 

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**Chapter five**: The Squid Brings Us Together Again****

The next morning at breakfast Hermione told Harry and Ron what had happened the previous night at detention.

"That evil, slimy git!" Ron spluttered angrily, almost choking on his toast, after hearing what Malfoy had done. His ears began to turn red.

"Please Ron, I don't want to think about it any more," she said gloomily and turned her face toward the window. "I hate him…"

During their whole first period (History of Magic) Ron and Harry exchanged spells and curses they would have liked to use on Malfoy as a way of cheering Hermione up.

Although Hermione did hate Malfoy she disapproved of their method to try make her feel better and instead indulged herself in a nice thick book to take her mind off the previous event. 

She was sitting outside on her rock by the lake again (_though careful not to slip_) with a large pile of books next to her. She figured if she just kept her mind busy with books she would completely forget to think about Malfoy. 

_Urgh! Just thinking of his name made her cringe._

She shook her head. _Must NOT think about Malfoy! She opened her Transfiguration book and turned to the first page and began to read…_

**_Chapter One__: History of the Animagus; The beginning…_**

_Animagus__: The ability to transform into an animal. _

_One of the first wizards to display this ability was Proteus. Proteus was servant to the Greek God Poseidon, god of the oceans. Proteus' one most special talent was his knowledge of the past, present and future. Because of this unique gift he was often asked for predictions. As a way of escaping he would quickly transform into a variety of animals and beastly creatures…_

~*~*~*~

Draco Malfoy sat in his History of Magic class.

Alone.

This was his 6th and last period for the day and it had been like this throughout every class. He would, instead of sit in his usual seat with Crabbe and Goyal, sit up the front, by himself. 

At lunchtime Crabbe and Goyle had caught on and began to understand why Draco had suddenly stopped talking to them, and felt quite insulted. So now _they_ weren't talking to _him_.

Draco shifted in his seat and looked at the pair. 

They noticed him staring and glared at him. 

He turned back to the front and rested his chin in his hand and sighed. He was beginning to regret dropping them. He now understood the price of 'friends'. Well… sort-of friends. 

Its not like he was their friend in the first place, he just used them for protection. Also it looked cool. But now when he walked around the castle without his bodyguards he felt like he was walking around naked. Everyone saw him as he walked alone and finally began to see how helpless he was without the two. He wasn't as intimidating and he was beginning to lose his respect from Slytherines as well as the other houses. What would his father think?!

Draco tried listening to Professor Bins but his attention wouldn't focus.

"_Morgana, or Morgan Le Fay, lived in the Straits of __Messina__ off __Italy__. She was a powerful enchantress of __Britain__. Morgana was especially gifted in the healing arts. She once stole the sword Excalibur from King Arthur, her half-brother and rival. She was tutored by the famous wizard Merlin, who we studied a few years back…"_

Draco's head snapped up. He had an idea. Professor Binns didn't even seem to notice him raise his hand. Draco began to feel frustrated holding his arm up and not getting any response. 

_To hell with it, he thought. _

He stood up and walked toward the door as he said, "Need to go to the bathroom," and left the class. Professor Binns did not object. _I don't even think he saw me leave_! Draco shrugged and continued to walk, though not actually sure where he was going. He didn't really need to go to the bathroom, that was only an excuse.

His feet carried him through the corridor, down the stairs, to the Entrance Hall, through the front doors and stepped onto the lush green grass under the warm sunshine outside. 

Deciding he could pretty much do whatever he wanted he headed for the lake. It was such a hot day for autumn that he thought he shouldn't waste it. He was going for a swim.

When he reached the lake he pulled off his shoes and socks, took off his robe (_he is clothed underneath_!) Wearing just a T-shirt and pants he dived into the crystal blue water.

_God! He thought, _I forgot how cold it was_! But he kept swimming with the idea that he would get use to it. And he did. _

Under water he did back-flips and turns. Becoming more confident and daring he swam further out in the lake where it was so deep the giant squid must live several meters under. In fact he could see something moving under him right now…

The water around him began to ripple fiercely. The dark 'Thing' under him began to grow larger. It was coming closer and closer…

_Uh-oh…! _

It all happened so quickly- one second Draco was treading in the water the next he was in the air being held upside-down over the water. The Squid had laced its tentacles around his ankles.

"_Aaaahhh…!!"_  Draco screamed as the Squid thrashed him about in the air. The Squid shook him violently making Draco feel like he was about to throw-up. 

Suddenly the Giant Squid plunged Draco head first into the water, still with a tight grip around his ankles.

Draco tried to wriggle free but it was no use. The Squid would not let him go. Draco's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he felt water seep into his lungs and darkness surrounded him…

~*~*~

Hermione was still sitting merrily on her rock, finishing off her Transfiguration book. She was just about to read the last paragraph when she was interrupted.

A wild splashing noise seeped into her thoughts. She glanced up from her book and gasped in horror. Across the lake the Giant Squid was shaking a student about in the air. Suddenly it thrust the person into the water and held him there.

Hermione's first thought was to go find a teacher for help but knew there wouldn't be enough time- this poor person could drown!! So she quickly pulled out her wand and ran to the other side of the lake where she could get closer to the Squid and its victim.

Waving her wand and shouting the first curse that popped into her head, "**_Stupefy_**!" (_Those DADA lessons from Harry really paid off!) The Giant Squid froze then fell limply into the water, releasing its victim._

Once she was sure it was safe, Hermione conjured up a rope, threw it into the water at the unconscious body floating face down in the water. With another wave of her wand the end of the rope tied itself around the waist of the body.

Using all the strength she could muster she tugged the rope, pulling the body closer and closer back to shore.

When the body reached the bank Hermione pulled and dragged the limp person out of the water, lay him on the grass and knelt beside him.

Panting and tired, Hermione wiped sweat and hair from her forehead before rolling the unconscious body on his back.

Hermione gasped, shocked to find Malfoy, eyes closed and face paler than ever before. She jumped in fright when he suddenly stirred.

***

Malfoy squinted his eyes open. The sun was so bright it hurt. He lay still for a few seconds. _What had happened? He strained his brain to think hard. _What happened_? Then it all came back to him; the swim, the Giant Squid, the Giant Squid trying to kill him!! So why was he still alive?_

For the first time he noticed that someone was with him. Forcing his eyes open he realized it was a girl but he couldn't make out her face as the sun was in his eyes. She looked like an angel, was he in heaven?

He was suddenly aware she was calling to him. What was she saying? Her voice sounded familiar…

***

"Malfoy? Malfoy, can you hear me?" Hermione called to him but was getting no response. She leaned in closer, "_MALFOY_!"

"_Aah_!" His eyes shot open and found Granger's face close to his staring back. His heart did a little flip, which he chose to ignore, and sat up. He rubbed his head which throbbed and ached like hell. "Granger, what happened?"

"I just saved you life, that's what happened," she replied, matter-of-factly. "The Giant Squid was about to kill you before I stopped it."

"How?" Draco clutched his head suddenly feeling very dizzy.

"Stunned it," Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed. She just saved Malfoy's life and all he was interested in was how she did it, not even a thank you! _Well, what else would expect from a Malfoy_? She thought bitterly. 

Malfoy was still in a state of shock and barely noticed when Hermione stood up muttering something about needing to go to the library, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He couldn't believe Granger - a mudblood – had saved his life, even after six years of name calling and tormenting, after what he did the previous night at detention, she still saved his life. He had to admit, that Granger was something. She made him feel things he had never remembered feeling before. 

Guilt was one- he was feeling guilty for all the cruel things he had ever done to her the past six years.

He felt something else too, though he was not sure what it was but every time he felt it his heart would lift like there was absolutely nothing wrong in the world, something much more powerful than happiness.

He shook his head and stood up. He stumbled a little from the dizziness as he bent to pick up his robes and shoes and headed back to the castle still dripping wet.

***

A/N: What did you all think of the fifth chapter? I swear our favourite couple will start to hate each other less and like each other more in the next chapter, so keep reviewing if you want me to update :)


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